Rebels 4
Hitmen 3
The Red Deer Rebels survived a third-period push from the Calgary Hitmen to secure their second straight victory.
With the 4-3 win at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, the Rebels move within two points of the fourth-place Swift Current Broncos.
The Hitmen got on the board first just minutes into the game scored by Carson Wetsch.
However, the Rebels scored four straight goals to take a commanding lead. Their fury of offence began with five minutes to go in the opening period when Ollie Josephson notched a shorthanded tally for his 11th goal of the year.
With less than a minute to go in the first, forward Kalan Lind knocked in a rebound in front of the net on the powerplay to carry a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
A minute and a half into the second period, Carson Birnie fired a shot into the back of the net off a fantastic feed on the offensive rush from Jeramiah Roberts.
Late in the period, Talon Brigley scored to give the Rebels a 4-1 lead but the Hitmen did not go away quietly.
In the third period, Calgary scored back-to-back goals within a minute of each other from Keets Fawcett and Maxim Muranov.
The Hitmen continued to push for the equalizer but the Rebels stood tall to seal the deal. Goaltender Chase Wutzke was also solid in net turning aside 29 shots.
The Rebels and Hitmen will play their third straight game against each other on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Peavey Mart Centrium.